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Tag: GreatLakesNews

  • The Obama’s in Kenya Celebrate

    {{The ancestral village of Barack Obama celebrated Wednesday the re-election of the son of Kogelo village, who won because he knows how to “love all people”, his grandmother said.}}

    Singing and dancing Crowds stayed up throughout the night in a small village in remote western Kenya nestled in the hills about 60 kilometres from Lake Victoria.

    Sarah Obama 90 said, “The reason why he(Obama) has won is because God has given it to him.”

    Sarah the third wife of the paternal grandfather of the president, who has said he regards her as a grandmother.

    Speaking in Luo language, Sarah said Obama won because, “Secondly he has got the knowledge to love all people, he doesn’t have the knowledge of division, that is why he has won.”

  • Kaberuka Calls for Inclusive Growth in Uganda

    {{In public lecture delivered in Kampala, Uganda, the African Development Bank President Donald Kaberuka said Africa’s demographics pointed to an explosion in the numbers of young people, though employment creation was not keeping pace. }}

    He lamented the fact that youth unemployment, at 20% last year, remains way above the global average of 10%.

    “The quality of Africa’s growth during the past decade has not been inclusive, with too few jobs created especially for the young people in the booming economies.

    The events of the Arab Spring have shown us the paradox of high growth and rising inequality and unemployment (which) requires all of us to reflect seriously on the causes,” said Kaberuka.

    The lecture, titled: “Economic Growth and Economic Transformation”, was moderated by the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Uganda, Dr. Louis Kasekende.

    Kaberuka said Africa has to continue investing heavily in infrastructure if it is catalyze growth, adding that Africa requires US $360 billion in infrastructure investments over the next 30 years, while the energy needs will also multiply.

    These kinds of investments requires innovative financing, such as issuance of infrastructure bonds, which have become important for the mobilization of infrastructure financing and the development of domestic capital markets.

    Kaberuka reiterated his call for the establishment of an African infrastructure bond to be financed using a fraction of funds held overseas by Africa’s Central Banks.

    “We have estimated that if only 5% of these reserves are invested with the African Development Bank, a triple-A rated institution, to invest in infrastructure, it would amount to US $22 billion,” said the President.

    Kaberuka argued that economic transformation is characterized by at least three key features, starting with the structure of the economy changing to depict an increase in the share of manufacturing, coupled with a sustained decline in the share of agriculture.

    This is followed by the share of agriculture employment falling, while the share of total labour force in other sectors of the economy increases, and finally, economic activity shifts from rural areas to the cities leading to an increase in the degree of urbanization.

    “Therefore, economic transformation is a comprehensive change that encompasses the modernization of a country’s economy, society and institutions. In countries where economic transformation has taken place, the middle class has become larger; changes have happened in the way politics works, with emphasis on market-friendly policies; and government has become more effective,” said Kaberuka.

    In all cases, where economic transformation has succeeded, the articulation of a national vision to motivate the people has been crucial.

    He added that though African countries have made valiant efforts towards freeing the continent from ignorance, poverty and disease, more needed to be done.

    “For while you can have growth without economic transformation, you can never have economic transformation without growth,” said Kaberuka.

    He gave the examples of Brazil, China and South Korea as countries which had leap-frogged developmental stages because of putting in place policies that led to a boost in growth.

    The President called for more investments in agricultural R&D as well as increasing land under irrigation.

    “It is significant that only 4% of food crops in Africa are irrigated compared to 30% in Asia,” he said.

    Urging for increased investment in education, Kaberuka said this is the only panacea for eradication poverty.

    “There is broad agreement that the best way to end the transmission of poverty from one generation to the other is quality education to the children of the poor,” he said.

  • EAC Agrees on Standards For Grains & Cereals

    {{The East African Community (EAC) states have agreed on the recommended moisture content for cereals and grains in the region, New Vision Reports.}}

    Technical experts from East African Standards Council from Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda made the resolutions during a two day regional workshop on EAC staple food standards harmonization held at the Lake Victoria Serena Hotel, in Entebbe last Wednesday.

    The final approval followed Kenya’s petition to the EAC in Arusha regarding the deficiencies in the staple foods standards approved by the East African Standards Council in Arusha in June last year.

    The delayed harmonization of the cereals standards was allegedly hurting traders.

    Uganda argued, “Cereal traders in the region can now sell their produce with ease. We have finally reached an agreement regarding the agreeable moisture content of cereals in the region.”

    The continuous delay of harmonization of various standards in the region was seen as an impediment to the common market protocol.

    The EAC experts reached consensus on moisture content of maize, dry beans, wheat, milled rice, millet grains, peas, sorghum, soy beans, split beans and brown rice among others.

  • Uganda to Unveil New Tourism Products at UK Expo

    {{Uganda will exhibit fresh tourism products at the world travel market (WTM) expo taking place in London, UK. }}

    This was revealed at a press conference where private and public sector representatives including Uganda tourism board, the Ministry of wildlife and antiquities, Uganda Wildlife Authority, the Chimpanzee Sanctuary and wildlife Trust , civil aviation authority, Sheraton Hotel and twenty tour operators met on Monday to discuss how best to represent the country at the leading global event for the travel industry.

    Wildlife and antiquities minister Maria Mutagamba, speaking at the conference at Sheraton Hotel’s lake room about the presentation of Uganda at the WTM that is taking place in Excel Docklands in London, reminded the different exhibitors that they were going as marketers not tourists, and they should be keen to find out what their potential clients’ interests are regarding Uganda.

    She urged them to uphold good discipline as well as understand and embrace on the element of cooperation and competition.

    Though a lot is known about Uganda’s tourism, this is only the tip of the iceberg. “The opportunities to innovate, create, package and present fresh and new tourism opportunities and destinations for Uganda are enormous,” Chris Pollard, the General Manager Sheraton Kampala, said.

    Pollard said: “As we transition into another generation of 50 years after independence, the challenge is for Uganda to look beyond the obvious opportunities if we are to build tourism in the country beyond what it is today.”

    “Since its initiation over 30 years ago, Uganda has participated in the WTM for over 16 years, but we must agree that this is not an ordinary year. It is our jubilee year and we must present fresh perspectives and projections for Uganda’s tourism to the rest of the world,” Pollard added.

    He said there is still untapped business in weekend tourism. “Therefore I see the WTM as an opportunity for us to not only boast for what we are known for but most importantly to give the world fresh and new reasons to rate Uganda as a major destination.

    The opportunities are enormous, I have no doubt that the resources are available to further expand and exploit out tourism potential for the next generation.”

    He said the Government needs to set the agenda to change mindsets towards what we have and the importance of preserving it. “Uganda, we are gifted, lets embrace this gift, and not under price it,” he said.

    Bugama Cuthbert Balinda, the Executive Director of Uganda Tourism Board, said at the three-day event, Uganda will showcase The Pearl of Africa with her numerous attractions and also celebrate the 50 years Golden Jubilee and the numerous accolades received in 2012.

    Uganda will showcase the gorilla as the major draw card, over 1040 bird species, hiking the diverse mountains-the snow capped Mount Rwenzonri, Alpine Afromontane zones to the Albertine Rift Valley- and White water rafting among others.

    Newvision

  • Meet Auma, Obama’s Kenyan Sister

    {{When Barack Obama won the U.S. election four years ago, his Kenyan half sister Auma was with her family at their homestead, watching the historic occasion on television.}}

    It was a night Auma Obama remembers well. “We had a lot of people visiting to watch with us,” she says. “There was a lot of excitement because it had been such a tough race. There was a sense of relief that all the hard work had paid off.”

    Alongside Auma and her family was filmmaker Branwen Okpako, who was making a documentary about Auma, “The Education of Auma Obama.”

    “I will never forget that period in their homestead,” says Okpako. “It was indescribable. Imagine something like that is happening to your family, yet so far away.”

    Okpako, 43, a Nigerian-born filmmaker living in Germany, became friends with Auma when they were both film students in Berlin in the early 1990s.

    “We were two of four African women studying at the film school at the time and we talked a lot about how the African continent was portrayed in film and how we wanted to change it,” says Okpako.

    Auma shares a father — Barack Senior — with her younger half brother, Barack. The pair did not meet until after their father died in 1982 and Barack got in touch with Auma to explore his Kenyan roots.

    Okpako had the idea for a film about her friend Auma in the run-up to the 2008 election.

    Auma recalls: “I wasn’t particularly enthusiastic when Branwen first suggested the film, but I agreed because she is a friend and I trusted her. If it had been a stranger, I don’t think I would have done it.”

    Okpako says Auma was initially reticent about the film because of the huge media interest in her family that came with Barack Obama’s rise to prominence.

    “It has put me in the limelight in a way that wouldn’t have happened otherwise,” says Auma. “I don’t like talking about my family but it’s great if it gives me the chance to talk about my work with deprived and underprivileged children.”

    Auma, who lives in Nairobi, traveled with Okpako to the family’s homestead in the village of Kogelo, where her grandmother lives and Barack Senior is buried.

    “We were sitting together for 10 days waiting for the election and reflecting how we got to this moment in time,” says Okpako.

    “We were reading the newspapers and reading the statistics, but of course we didn’t know what was going to happen. It was intense and full of anticipation.

    “The film deals with that moment in time when history was made, but also how they got to that moment.”

    She adds: “All the family was there, the grandmother, all the cousins. Once the result was known everybody in the village came into the compound to celebrate. There must have been hundreds of people there.”

    Auma Obama grew up in the family’s homestead in Kogelo before moving to Germany where she spent 16 years as a journalist, broadcaster and studied for a PhD in German literature.

    She then lived for a period in the United Kingdom before returning to Kenya, where she works now as a social worker and youth advocate.

    The film is partly a fly-on-the-wall documentary about the family watching the 2008 election from their homestead, and partly uses interviews and old footage to tell the family’s story.

    Okpako traveled with Auma Obama to many significant places in her life to trace her story. She had hoped to interview Barack Obama for the film, but was unable to arrange time with the president.

    “I thought it would be good to have him as a small character in a film about an African woman, but it wasn’t possible,” she said.

    The president did, however, get to hear about the film when the cameraman’s mother-in-law visited the White House with German chancellor Angela Merkel and told him about it.

    “He asked for a copy and we sent it, but I don’t know if he has watched it,” says Okpako. “I think it would be interesting for him to see what his Kenyan family was doing that day.”

    “The Education of Auma Obama” will be shown in London on this year’s election day, Tuesday, November 6, as part of the Film Africa festival, and Okpako will be there for a question and answer session with the audience.

    Auma says she has to work on election day, but she will still be watching events unfold.

    “I follow my brother’s career as closely as any sibling would,” she says.
    “It’s important for me to know whether or not he is happy in his job,” she adds.

    “He makes me very proud because he has a tough job and does it 100% to his ability.”

    The film premiered at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival and has won awards at the PanAfrican Film Festival in Los Angeles and the Africa International Film Festival in Lagos.

    CNN

  • EAC Regulators to Harmonise Payout For Collapsed Banks

    {{Central Bank regulators in the East African Community (EAC) are drafting laws to harmonise the amount of compensation bank customers are entitled to upon the collapse of a lender.}}

    The proposed regulations are part of the ongoing efforts to integrate the EAC financial sector before establishment of a common currency in the region.

    Customer deposits held by Kenyan banks are insured to a limit of Shs100,000 per account holder, compared to a maximum of $1,714 (Shs146,000) for Ugandan depositors and about US$160 (Shs13,500) for Tanzanians.

    “We are moving towards harmonising the legislation and policies for deposit insurance in the region.

    One of the risks we face without the common policies and law is arbitrage such that people can move accounts, for example, from one country to the other to exploit the differences,” said Rose Detho, director of Kenya’s Deposit Protection Fund Board (DPFB).

    Ms Detho said it is possible for users of financial services to exploit loopholes inherent in the different regulations and practices in the five countries to make money by moving accounts from one country to another.

    Other cross-border risks posed by the different regulations on deposit insurance include the insolvency process, the basis of compensation of depositors — whether by branch or subsidiary — as well as extent of the insurance.

    “The harmonisation framework is expected to be complete by 2015,” said Ms Detho.

    She was speaking to journalists on the sidelines of an international workshop called at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies (KSMS) in Nairobi on Monday to assess the strength of the deposit insurance framework and how it can be improved.

    It was organised by the International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI).

  • E.Africa New Frontier for Natural Gas Production

    {{East Africa has emerged as the new frontier for natural gas production, boosted by offshore discoveries in Mozambique, Tanzania and Madagascar, a report by Ernst & Young shows.}}

    The report released this week says “the most dynamic recent developments in the African natural gas sector have been in East Africa,” despite most of the major players coming from further north.

    In the last five years, energy firms including Italy’s ENI and US group Anadarko Petroleum have reported several large-scale offshore gas finds in northern Mozambique’s Rovuma basin and Mamba fields.

    Recoverable gas reserves in Rovuma is estimated at three trillion cubic meters, the report said.

    Leading global oil groups are getting in on the act as discoveries in Madagascar and Kenya have upped the ante. In Tanzania, BG Group, Ophir Energy, Statoil and ExxonMobil have all found “major gas deposits.”

    The report described east Africa as the “next epicentre” for global natural gas, something which was “non-story” ten years ago.

    “With the huge recent discoveries in offshore East Africa (in particular, Mozambique and Tanzania), the future of African gas is, however, expected to shift eastward,” said the report.

    Gas production in Africa since 2000 has been growing by about four per cent per year, with exports destined for the Asian market.

    “African gas production reached about 203 bcm (billion cubic metres) in 2011, with production led by Algeria, Egypt and Nigeria, collectively accounting for more than 88 per cent of the continent’s total,” it said.

    The report also noted untapped shale gas resources in South Africa which have been the subject of a controversial debate.

    Environmentalists opposed exploration in the vast semi-arid region of Karoo, in the northern Cape, prompting the government to impose a moratorium on the technique known as fracking. The freeze was lifted last month however.

    According to consultants Wood Mackenzie, the ease of access to Asian markets and a break-even point that is substantially lower than rival Australia could help natural gas exports.

    Meanwhile, senior economists attending the seventh edition of the African Economic Conference in Kigali have called for strong institutions that will sustain Africa’s development.

    The high level meet that ended on Friday, was held under the theme; “Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development in Africa in an Age of Global Uncertainty”.

    According to the economic experts, Africa lacks strong political will to implement the policy frameworks that have already been developed.

    “Our leaders should see that development to accelerate our institutions must be strong enough to back it up,” said Mr Sylvain Dessy, a professor of Economics at Canada’s Laval University.

    “I hope a number of issues affecting the development in Africa will be raised in this forum. If people are motivated enough, they can tackle all these issues affecting development in Africa,” said Prof Dessy, a Cameroonian national.

    He stated that strong institutions that encourage innovation and protect and respect property rights will take Africa to another level in terms of growth.

    Hundreds of participants, including eminent academics, political leaders, representatives of international organisations, chief executives, civil society organisations and the media attended the meeting. (Agencies)

    President Paul Kagame while opening the conference on Monday urged African leaders to work towards doing away with counterproductive political influence and concentrate on meeting the development aspirations of their people.

    “For Africa to attain economic growth there is need to harness our natural resources and changing demographics –a young, healthy, and skilled population, increase urbanisation as well as availability of modern technology,” he said.

    President Kagame pointed out that Rwanda’s economic growth is a result of ownership of programmes, citizen participation, a high degree of accountability, effective cooperation with development partners and the building of strong institutions.

    The continental meeting, organised by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), sought to explore the continent’s prospects for sustainable and inclusive growth in the wake of the global economic crisis.

    According to Prof Mthuli Ncube, the chief economist and vice president of AfDB, what will drive the growth in Africa, is dealing with the development gaps that already exists. (Agencies)

  • Kenya Using 6% of Internet Capacity

    {{Kenya’s total bandwidth consumption is only a small fraction of the country’s total internet capacity. This is according to Joseph Mucheru, Google SSA Ambassador and Kenya Country Lead, who sees public internet hotspots as a solution to the low uptake of internet.}}

    Mucheru said Kenya is using 6 percent of the national Internet capacity of 8400G.

    “Giving people access to the internet via Wazi Wi-fi will help improve penetration of the internet and utilization of the capacity we have, that is currently underused. The cost structure of the service helps break the cost barrier, which limits number of people using the internet.’

    Wazi Wi-Fi is an initiative by Google, Wananchi Group Ltd, and other businesses which aims to provide affordable, on-the-go, internet to the public. Wazi WiFi is currently rolling out hundreds of wireless hotspots including mall, cafes, restaurants and bars.

    The service allows users to access the high speed internet by paying a daily or monthly subscription using mobile payment platforms. A daily unlimited subscription costs Sh50 while for a month’s connection, costs from Sh500.

    Wazi Wi-Fi has deployed over 400 Wi-Fi Access Points in 200 hotspot locations in Nairobi and Mombasa; Kenya’s largest cities. Wazi Wi-Fi is continuously seeking to partner with other wireless hotspot owners as well as general infrastructure players such as Mobile Service Operators, Internet Service Providers, Cable service providers and other firms, with the ultimate goal of having blanket coverage across the country and onwards onto the East African region.

    Riyaz Bachani, Group CTO at Wananchi Group, now in charge of Wazi WiFi says Wi-Fi is the last mile connectivity technology that will lead to better usage of the internet capacity because of its reliability and easy connectivity.

    “We have a good number of hotspots in Nairobi and we are looking to increase our reach to other towns to net in more customers and spread the benefit of internet.”

  • Tanzanite Tycoon to Create More Jobs

    {{The Global largest tanzanite buyer, Morris Gad, through his company, Diamonds International, intends to invest heavily in Tanzania’s gemstone industry to create employment for locals.}}

    Mr. Gad, who buys nearly 70% of tanzanite to sell in his more than 140 locations in the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean, revealed this at the end his three-day business tour in Mererani and Arusha last week.

    Gad said his venture in tanzanite precious stone in the country would involve an investment of multi-million-dollars.

    The tycoon also would be sourcing the Tanzanite gemstone only in Tanzania and not any other country so that local people can get direct income.

    His daughter, Sara Morris Gad who accompanied his father in Tanzania business trip said that she was eager to understand the story behind tanzanite gemstone so that she can be able to tell her customers.

  • Uganda Accepts to Pay Back Stolen Donor Cash

    {{Uganda has decided to pay back to the Peace, Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP) donor account, the money that was lost to fraudsters in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM).}}

    Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi said it would be sourced elsewhere, but when convicted by the courts of law, the suspects would be punished and made to refund it.

    He said the Police investigations into the fraud were ongoing and some people had already been interdicted.

    Mbabazi was briefing the media on the actions that the Government was taking to restore confidence among development partners, following the loss of billions of shillings in the OPM.

    The briefing was at his office on Friday.

    It is reported that sh14b was diverted from the donor account of the PRDP to the Crisis Management and Recovery Account from where it was stolen.

    Denmark, Ireland, Britain and Sweden contribute development aid to the PRDP account.